I'm so sorry to keep everyone waiting. RL sort of just got in the way. Thanks again for all the encouraging reviews. And a big big thank you to chazper for betaing and being so encouraging as I write each chapter. All mistakes are still mine.
I don't own the O.C. or any of its characters. Gigi still belongs to me...

Seth froze in his tracks. Ryan, on bended knee, was right beside him. Both were breathing heavily.

"Well?" Maria demanded.

"We were just fooling around," Seth explained.

Maria shook her head. "You're behaving like children." She waved a hand towards the flowers on the floor. "Your grandfather is going to be livid. Did that vase break?"

Seth scrambled to the corner of the room, where there was a mini bar, hoping to find paper towels. He stole a glance at his grandfather's assistant and for the first time realized that Maria was trying hard to bury a smirk. He was tempted to call her on it and let Ryan in on the secret, but decided to play along.

"Find something productive to do or I'm going to interrupt your grandfather's meeting to let him know what's going on."

"We didn't break the vase," Ryan offered lamely as he gathered the tulips and put them back in. "We'll clean it up. Mr. Nichol won't find anything disturbed. We swear."

Maria nodded her head. "Just settle down. Okay? This is an office, not a playground."

"We will. I promise," Ryan said again. "Um, is there something we can do for you?" Ryan widened his eyes hopefully, wanting to get back into Maria's good graces.

"Right." She shook her finger at Ryan remembering why she had come in to the office. "Right. I came in here to ask you what you guys wanted for lunch. Mr. Nichol called from the conference room saying that they'd be working right through. I'm ordering in."

They glanced through the menus she gave them and told her what they wanted. Ryan bit his lip as he saw Maria's quirk her brow in disbelief. Seth was ordering for a small army. He knew it was for the girls. Seth didn't miss the look though and hastily explained he was a growing boy.

"Oh," Maria said as she was about to exit the room. "There are two young ladies waiting to see you. Should I send them in?"

Seth nearly pounced. "Yes." A restraining hand from Ryan kept him from tackling the secretary at the door.

Summer slunk into the room and only acknowledged Ryan's greeting with a brief nod of her head. She made a bee line for Seth and wrapped her arms around them. Gigi's face flushed as Seth and Summer slithered into a corner of the room.

"I guess they've been missing each other." Ryan scratched the back of his head. "Do you want to sit?" He waved a hand at the leather sofa.

"What about Seth's Grandfather?"

"Oh. His grandfather's going to be holed up in a meeting all day. I don't think we have to worry."

The corners of Gigi's mouth turned up into a coy smile. "We should go sit. And um… get to know each other better."

"Yeah. We should."

Ryan took her by the hand and gently led her to the couch. Their eyes flitted around the room, landing on Seth and Summer, who were too busy to even come up for air. Gigi was the first to avert her gaze.

"They don't waste time."

"Not the way Seth tells it."

She laughed and then looked down at her short skirt, which was riding up, exposing her mocha colored thighs. "Summer likes him a lot."

"I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual." Ryan wondered why Gigi was becoming shy all of a sudden. She certainly hadn't been shy in the back seat of Summer's car. Frankly, all he wanted was to do what Seth and Summer were doing.

Gigi threw another look over her shoulder. Seth and Summer were a tangle of limbs, heavy breathing and the occasional grunt. "You don't think they're going to have sex while we're in the room?"

Ryan's face blanched. "I hope not."

Gigi giggled at his horrified expression. "It's not like you've never done it." He heard the question in her voice as she ran a finger along his collar.

"Not with an audience." He looked down at her hand and followed its path up and down his collar and inching towards the base of his neck. She curled the ends of his hair around her finger until she pulled Ryan's head back.

Gigi leaned forward and kissed Ryan's neck. She kissed him slowly, carefully, barely grazing her lips against his skin, sending goose bumps up and down his spine. Ryan turned his body sideways so he was facing Gigi and put his arms around her waist, leaning in to catch her lips between his. He sucked them hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

Gigi's hands snaked around his torso, rubbing them up and down, and letting the right hand slide down to his torso. He felt his pants tighten. He pushed out the nagging thoughts that he hardly knew Gigi and had barely made conversation with her and he shouldn't be doing this and instead wondered where he could find a room alone or if Caleb had a bathroom in his office, because if Gigi was willing and able, he was not going to refuse her.

He pushed Gigi down on the sofa so that he could kiss her from on top. His hand slid into her blouse and he fingered her lacy bra, fumbling to find the snaps in the back. But her hands shoved his away and Ryan tried not to get frustrated and reminded himself that good things came to those who wait.

He didn't hear the door creak open or the loud clearing of a throat. But he did hear Caleb's voice booming, "What in tarnation? Seth! Ryan!"

Ryan sat up abruptly, banging his head on the low hanging bookshelf right about the couch. He rubbed his head as Gigi sat up, trying to discreetly straighten her blouse. Seth and Summer were pulling apart, extricating their limbs from one another. Seth's hair was tousled. Summer's blouse was unbuttoned, her lipstick smeared. Her normally snow-white complexion was a deep shade of crimson.

"Grandpa," Seth choked out. "Did your meeting end already?"

"Don't change the subject Seth Ezekiel."

"This is one subject I'm not sure I want to discuss with you."

"Nor I with you." Caleb took a long stride bringing him into the center of the room. He looked around, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Girls, I imagine you have someplace else to be."

"Actually," Summer started to say, but Gigi cut her off.

She jumped off the couch and grabbed her purse, which she had dropped on the floor beside her feet. "Actually," she finished for Summer, "My dad's expecting me at the country club. Since you drove me over here Summer, I'll need a ride."

"Oh. Right." Summer caught on, remembering that this was more than just being embarrassed at being caught. It was more about Seth and Ryan getting caught with guests when they were supposed to be on punishment. She scrambled up, grabbed her purse, and started to lean in for a good-bye kiss, but thought better of it when Caleb cleared his throat.

Ryan swallowed when it was just the three of them. Caleb's face was a deep shade of red, to the top of his balding head and the tip of his ears. He stalked to his desk and rummaged through one of the draws until he extricated the file he had apparently come looking for. The silence chewed on Ryan's intestines. Why wasn't Caleb talking or yelling?

Finally, Caleb talked. His voice was controlled. Steady. It was just above a whisper. "I'm going to return to my meeting." He glanced at his watch. "I should be about one more hour. In that hour you will not move. Not even to take a leak."

"Don't say leak, Grandpa."

"You will not speak." Caleb looked pointedly at Seth. "You will only take enough breathes to ensure that you live. Is that understood?"

Ryan nodded. Seth started to protest, but an angry glare from Caleb shut him up.

"Maria will baby sit. When my meeting is over, I will try to figure out what I'm going to tell your parents. I must say, the two have you have been trying this weekend. I didn't have this much trouble with Hailey when she was your age and we all know your aunt was a wild child."

Seth arched his brow and Ryan could tell he was busting at the seams to say something. He sighed with relief as Caleb retreated and Seth's mouth was still sealed shut. He seemed to be heeding his grandfather's warning to the letter. Ryan checked the clock. Seth was surely going to break his own record on the length of time he had kept quiet… he probably had already.

"We're in for it." Ryan was the first to break the silence. He got up and paced the floor, his hands clasped behind his back. "Sandy and Kirsten aren't going to let us go anywhere after this. We're going to be on house arrest and Stallone marathons until we puke."

"He's not going to tell Mom and Dad. He won't want to admit failure."

"Why are you being so flip?" Ryan glared at Seth. "This isn't going to just go away. Your grandpa was really mad. I should have never listened to you."

"Take it easy, Ryan."

"I need to grow a spine. Ever since I moved in with your family, I've just been following all of your schemes, even though I know they're stupid."

"Stupid? Come on—"

"Going to that party in Long Beach was a dumb idea. Going to TJ was a dumber idea. Fake I.Ds and prostitutes in Las Vegas. Sneaking out of the house," Ryan ticked off each incident with another finger. "No matter that I thought it was a bad idea, I still did it. Well no more, Seth."

"So it's all my fault?" Seth brought his knees to his chest.

"No. It's my fault for listening and following. I know a dumb idea when I hear it."

"I didn't realize you felt that way."

Ryan sighed and fell back into the couch. Seth looked like a whipped puppy. His tousled hair fell into his eyes and he looked younger than his seventeen years.

"I just hate having Sandy and Kirsten mad at us or disappointed," he amended.

"They'll get over it."

"Yeah. I know. But you know…"

"Look, I'll make sure Grandpa doesn't tell Mom and Dad."

"How?"

Seth chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Begging won't help. And Grandpa's pretty angry." He snapped his fingers. "The way to get to Grandpa is to embarrass him."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Ryan didn't think Caleb Nichol was easily embarrassed. He told Seth as much. "I mean, he married a woman half his age and everyone knows that his wife is no saint."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. You can watch and learn from the master."

Ryan chewed on his thumbnail, wondering if he should put his faith in Seth. Could things get any worse? He hoped not. He knew they were in it pretty deep. He peeked at Seth from under his bangs. Seth looked pretty determined. There was probably no stopping him and once again, Ryan would have to go along. He hoped for once that whatever Seth was scheming would work.

Caleb returned an hour later an irritated expression all over his face. Ryan wondered if it was because the meeting had gone badly or if it was just the thought of dealing with them that made Caleb looked sour.

"Grandpa, can we talk alone?" Seth didn't wait for Caleb to say anything.

"What is it, Seth?" Caleb growled.

"It's sort of private."

"I can sit with Maria," Ryan offered, playing along with Seth's mysterious plan.

Caleb curtly nodded his head and Ryan slunk out of the room. He stood as close to the door as he dared, hoping to catch the whole conversation. Maria eyed him strangely, but he just put his finger to his lips and motioned at the office to indicate that what he really wanted was to hear what was going on inside. It was his funeral too, he thought. He had a right to hear.

Seth scratched his bare arm and tried to stare down Caleb. It didn't work. He blinked first and pulled his gaze down to the floor. He vaulted up from the floor, where he had stayed ever since Summer had left and inched closer to his grandfather.

"First of all, I'm sorry about Summer and her friend. I didn't know they were coming," he lied. "She surprised us and well, I couldn't turn her away."

"Why not?" demanded Caleb.

"Come on Grandpa, I'm seventeen."

Caleb did something between a snort and a grunt and Seth knew his grandfather's anger was dissipating. Could Caleb really remember what it was like to be seventeen or did he have a soft spot for his only grandson, Seth wondered. He knew Caleb would never come to think of Ryan as a grandson, even if he accepted him as Kirsten and Sandy's son.

"What did you need to talk about Seth? I was just about to call your parents." Caleb had a sheaf of papers and envelopes in his hand that he was sorting through.

Seth ignored the last comment and sat down on the sofa Ryan had abandoned. He hoped that when he was finished, Caleb wouldn't remember to tell Sandy or Kirsten about any of this. Though he had appeared all confident to Ryan, he really wasn't that sure of himself. But he had to give it his best try.

"Well, you see Grandpa, there are certain things I can't discuss with my dad and I was hoping, since you walked in on me anyway, I could you know, talk to you. Man to man."

Caleb threw down his stack of papers and sat in a chair across from Seth. He leaned back and crossed his leg. "What do you mean, Seth?"

Certain that he had his grandfather's attention; Seth leaned in and lowered his voice in a conspirator's whisper. He caught Ryan's eye through the crack in the office door.

"I know it was sort of obvious, what I was doing today, with Summer."

Caleb blushed.

"When you're with a girl – I mean woman – like that, I mean, don't you get excited?"

"You don't?" Caleb knitted his brow together. "Seth, are you trying to tell me you're gay?"

"No!" He nearly shouted. "No! It's not that. I like women. Really, I do. It's just that when you're kissing them, and doing what dad, in the most embarrassing sex talk ever, told me was foreplay, don't you get excited?" He waved at his crotch. "Like, ready."

The top of Caleb's head was turning from a deep shade of red to purple. Seth wondered if it was safe to do this to a man with a heart condition.

"So you mean," Caleb spluttered. "You —"

Seth lowered his voice again. "I can't get it up." He was going to burn in hell for doing this to his aging grandfather, he thought, and for lying. He was virile as a young chick in heat. If chicks went into heat.

"I was thinking, being that your wife is Julie Cooper, well maybe you had something to share with me. Some of those pills…"

"Pills?"

"Viagra."

Caleb ducked his head. "Seth, you should have this conversation with Sandy."

"I can't tell Dad." He raised his voice with high-pitched indignation.

"Nonsense." Seth realized Caleb was slowly recovering, donning his aura of multi-millionaire and the richest and most powerful man in Newport instead of befuddled grandfather. "Sandy's as open-minded as they come. Kirsten called while I was in the boardroom. Their plane's on time. They should be coming to pick you up within the hour."

"So, you think I should talk to dad then?"

"Give him a moment to recover, but yes, talk to him about this. This is really his domain."

"If you're sure."

"I'm certain." Caleb stood up and retreated to his desk. He seemed glad to put as much distance as he could between himself and his grandson. "He looked down at the pile of folders on his desk and poked through them. "Now go find Ryan and tell him we're going home to wait for your parents."

"Yes sir." Seth stood. "And Grandpa, thanks for the advice."

"Whatever," Caleb grumbled. "Get going."

Seth stepped out of the office and nearly bumped into Ryan. "You heard?"

Ryan mutely nodded.

"You think it worked?"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't know. But I nearly busted a gut stifling my laughter."

Seth rolled his tongue in his mouth. "We need to get going. I guess we'll find out what happens when the 'rents come back."

Ryan nodded. What would happen next was as unpredictable as his sidekick beside him.